18.

1 "Remember that the Levitical priests - that is, the whole of the tribe of Levi - will receive no allotment of land among the other tribes in Israel. Instead, the priests and Levites will eat from the special gifts given to the LORD, for that is their share.

2 They will have no land of their own among the Israelites. The LORD himself is their special possession, just as he promised them.

3 "These are the parts the priests may claim as their share from the cattle, sheep, and goats that the people bring as offerings£º the shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach.

4 You must also give to the priests the first share of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and the wool at shearing time.

5 For the LORD your God chose the tribe of Levi out of all your tribes to minister in the LORD's name forever.

6 "Suppose a Levite chooses to move from his town in Israel, wherever he is living, to the place the LORD chooses for worship.

7 He may minister there in the name of the LORD his God, just like all his fellow Levites who are serving the LORD there.

8 He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he also receives support from his family.

9 "When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there.

10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft,

11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead.

12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the LORD your God will drive them out ahead of you.

13 But you must be blameless before the LORD your God.

14 The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the LORD your God forbids you to do such things."

15 Moses continued, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.

16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, 'Don't let us hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.'

17 "Then the LORD said to me, 'What they have said is right.

18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.

19 I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims on my behalf.

20 But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.'

21 "But you may wonder, 'How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the LORD?'

22 If the prophet speaks in the LORD's name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the LORD did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.

 

 

19.

1 "When the LORD your God destroys the nations whose land he is giving you, you will take over their land and settle in their towns and homes.

2 Then you must set apart three cities of refuge in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

3 Survey the territory, and divide the land the LORD your God is giving you into three districts, with one of these cities in each district. Then anyone who has killed someone can flee to one of the cities of refuge for safety.

4 "If someone kills another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, the slayer may flee to any of these cities to live in safety.

5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood. And suppose one of them swings an ax to chop down a tree, and the ax head flies off the handle, killing the other person. In such cases, the slayer may flee to one of the cities of refuge to live in safety.

6 "If the distance to the nearest city of refuge is too far, an enraged avenger might be able to chase down and kill the person who caused the death. Then the slayer would die unfairly, since he had never shown hostility toward the person who died.

7 That is why I am commanding you to set aside three cities of refuge.

8 "And if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised them,

9 you must designate three additional cities of refuge. (He will give you this land if you are careful to obey all the commands I have given you - if you always love the LORD your God and walk in his ways.)

10 That way you will prevent the death of innocent people in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession. You will not be held responsible for the death of innocent people.

11 "But suppose someone is hostile toward a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and murders him and then flees to one of the cities of refuge.

12 In that case, the elders of the murderer's hometown must send agents to the city of refuge to bring him back and hand him over to the dead person's avenger to be put to death.

13 Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people; then all will go well with you.

14 "When you arrive in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession, you must never steal anyone's land by moving the boundary markers your ancestors set up to mark their property.

15 "You must not convict anyone of a crime on the testimony of only one witness. The facts of the case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

16 "If a malicious witness comes forward and accuses someone of a crime,

17 then both the accuser and accused must appear before the LORD by coming to the priests and judges in office at that time.

18 The judges must investigate the case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite,

19 you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you.

20 Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing.

21 You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

 

 

20.

1 "When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you!

2 When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops.

3 He will say to them, 'Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them.

4 For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!'

5 "Then the officers of the army must address the troops and say, 'Has anyone here just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, you may go home! You might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate your house.

6 Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, you may go home! You might die in battle, and someone else would eat the first fruit.

7 Has anyone here just become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? Well, you may go home and get married! You might die in the battle, and someone else would marry her.'

8 "Then the officers will also say, 'Is anyone here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else.'

9 When the officers have finished speaking to their troops, they will appoint the unit commanders.

10 "As you approach a town to attack it, you must first offer its people terms for peace.

11 If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor.

12 But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town.

13 When the LORD your God hands the town over to you, use your swords to kill every man in the town.

14 But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the plunder from your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.

15 "But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter.

16 In those towns that the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing.

17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you.

18 This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the LORD your God.

19 "When you are attacking a town and the war drags on, you must not cut down the trees with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies, that you should attack them?

20 You may only cut down trees that you know are not valuable for food. Use them to make the equipment you need to attack the enemy town until it falls.

 

 

21.

1 "When you are in the land the LORD your God is giving you, someone may be found murdered in a field, and you don't know who committed the murder.

2 In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns.

3 When the nearest town has been determined, that town's elders must select from the herd a young cow that has never been trained or yoked to a plow.

4 They must lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and that has a stream running through it. There in the valley they must break the young cow's neck.

5 Then the Levitical priests must step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in the LORD's name. They are to decide all legal and criminal cases.

6 "The elders of the town must wash their hands over the young cow whose neck was broken.

7 Then they must say, 'Our hands did not shed this person's blood, nor did we see it happen.

8 O LORD, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed. Do not charge your people with the guilt of murdering an innocent person.' Then they will be absolved of the guilt of this person's blood.

9 By following these instructions, you will do what is right in the LORD's sight and will cleanse the guilt of murder from your community.

10 "Suppose you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD your God hands them over to you, and you take some of them as captives.

11 And suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her and want to marry her.

12 If this happens, you may take her to your home, where she must shave her head, cut her nails,

13 and change the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. She will stay in your home, but let her mourn for her father and mother for a full month. Then you may marry her, and you will be her husband and she will be your wife.

14 But if you marry her and she does not please you, you must let her go free. You may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her.

15 "Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons. And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love.

16 When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son.

17 He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father's virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him.

18 "Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him.

19 In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.

20 The parents must say to the elders, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.'

21 Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

22 "If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree,

23 the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.